Question

Discuss the need for evaluation of public health programs. Describe your proposed process and outcome measures. What potential tools can be used to collect these measures?

Answer 1

There are two basic needs for evaluating public health programs:-

1. to discover the effectiveness of the intervention taken under the influence of public health programs.

2.to assess the quality of intervention and to make improvisation in it.

The proposed process for the evaluation of public health programs includes:-

1. number of participants who completed the program, who are participating in screenings or risk assessment, who are participating in health education or skill activities development and who receive and follow up with referrals

2. patients enrolled in health promotion or disease prevention programs

3. Number and types of educational materials produced for the program

4. key stakeholders involved in the program

5. people who are aware of program messaging and intend to take action

6. policies developed and types of program activities and settings

7. Number and characteristics of staff offering the program and the extent to which activities are implemented according to the program plan

8. resources and contributions provided by stakeholder groups and cost to complete program-related activities

The outcome measures for the evaluation of public health programs:-

1. Perceived health status, health behaviour, biometric markers, risk factors and disease prevalence

2. Healthcare costs and policies

3. Environmental conditions, knowledge and skills

The potential tools to measure the outcome measure of the evaluation of public health programs include:-

1. demographic data of program participants and referral management

2. needs and progress assessment of the participants and the history of the participant

3. Attendance monitoring of the participants

4. Determining which staff, services, programs and efforts are the most effective at achieving desired outcomes